Type-writing machine.



F. X. WAGNER. TYPE WRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1905.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

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FRANZ X. WAGNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T 'UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER,COMBANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb, 2t, 1311,

Application filed December 4, 1905. Serial No. 290,167,

- citizen of the United States, residing in Bronx borough, New Yorkcity, in the county of New York and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Type-VVriting Machines, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to the type-bars and type-bar pivots of thosemachines in which all the type-bars'arc mounted, usually in a segment,upon one side of the printing point. In such machines, it is usual tomount and form the type bars so that the types (of which two or more areprovided upon each bar) are offset from the bars to progressivelygreaterdegrees from the middle to the sides of the system, and thelarger the segment,

measurcdin degrees, the greater the angles at which the types lie totheir bars atthc sides of the system. Thisangularity of the types isobjectionable, and hence it is a practice to make the segment as small.or short (measured in degrees) as possible, and hence it becomesnecessary to crowd the types closely together as they lie at rest, andthis results in undue liability ofclashing of the types in rapidoperation.

One of the principal objects of my inven tion is to secure greaterseparation of the type ends of the bars without increasing the length ofthe segment measured in dogrees. To this end, I provide pivotal,supports or guides for the type bars having slightly skewed relation toone another, such that separation of the type ends of the bars isthereby produced. I illustrate my invention in connection with the wellknown front strike Underwood writing machine, in which the type barslie'normally at about an angle of degrees to their printing positions.llcretofore, in-this and similar machines, the space occupied by thetype ends of the bars has been equal to the space occu-- piedby thepivot ends, the bars extending forwardly substantially in parallelism.In said former machines, the planes in which the several type bars swingintersected at a common point, but accordingtomy invention suchplancs'not only intersect, but are also skewed or canted relatively toone-another. These planes of vibration are so skewed as to have thegreatest separation atabout the position of the type ends of the barswhen. at rest, that is, whcn lying at about an angle of 90 degrees totheir print mg positions. By this means, a slight extra separation ofthe types is produced, which is sufficient to enable them to clear oneanother satisfactorily in rapid operation, while the length of thesegment is not thereby increased, and hence the angularity of the typesto their bars is not increased. In such machines, it is necessary tomake the typebars so short that their weight will not be an objection inoperation, and, it has been found very difiicult in practice to assembleupon one side of the printing point and out of tho way of the platen andits appurtenances, as large a number of type-bars as is desirable.Accordingly typewriting machines are almost universally manufacturedwith about forty type-bars to include the alphabet, figures andpunctuation marks; although iii-many machines less than forty areemployed. It is usual to provide each type-bar with two types for upperand lower case letters, and also for additional punctuation and accentmarks.

lu order to equip a machine for writing tie Russian language, it isnecessary to provide several more characters than can be placed uponeither forty or forty-two type bars. In machines as usuallymanufactured, the long or double types at the extremes of the system liealmost end to end, so that it becomes impracticable within the limitedspace to add several more type bars at the ends of the system, if thesame plan or disposition of the type bars is to be followed for theadditional or auxiliary bars as for those in the main system. It ishighly dcsirable, however, from an economical standpoint to employ forwriting the Russyanand' other languages, machines such as ale-re'gwlarly immufacturcd, and witl las little change therein as possible.'lTlii'sfd-iiliculty has been overcome by me by addinghuxiliary bars tothe ends of the usual system of forty-two bars in such a manner that butvery little additional space is occupied by the auxiliary bars andtypes, and both the main and the auxiliary bars, I mount to swing inskewed plancs so that it isrendcrcd practicable to-add to machines thatare regularly manufactured with type bars swinging in skewed planes,enough types to adapt them to the Russian and other languages] Icontriveto bring not only the main typo bars,- but also the auxiliarybars,

-machine 11 on the front side in such close arrangement at their pivotends that av relatively short segment, measured in degrees, may beemployed; so that the types do not stand at prohibitive angles to theirbars even upon the extreme auxiliary bars.

In the accompanying drawings,'Figure l is a rear elevationof the typebar segment of the well known Underwood front strike writing machineshowing my improvel'nents applied thereto in one form. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation showing a type-bar in printing position. Fig. 3shows the type'bars that are mounted upon the right hand half of thesegment including the auxiliary bars. In this figure, the bars are shownin the positions they would occupy if their fulcrum rod werestraightened and made horizontal, that is, if their pivots were changedfrom the arrangement; seen at Fig. 1, and placed in one straighthorizontal line. In this figure. the types show substantially the sainerelation each to the next as they bear in the usual curved, or segmentaltype-basket; but the bars instead of being parallcl in accordance withthe usual arrangement, are divergent from their pivot ends to their typeends, so as to give extra clearance to the types while occllpying nomore room-in the segment. Fig. 4 shows an end view of the segment withthe extreme auxiliary type bar in normal position therein, said type barbeing oblique with reference to the segment, and the typebar guidingslots being shown as skewed or obliquely placed relatively to oneanother.

1 designates the platen of said typewriting of which strike multipletypes 2 carried upon radiatin type bars 3, which are mounted upon afulcrum rod 4, which is usually in the form of a segment of a circle.The type bars work in radiating slots 5 formed upon the lower'borde r ofa. vertical segment '6. The main system is illustrated as comprisingforty-two type bars; although some styles of Underwood and othermachines carry a smaller number. The first auxiliary type bar at eachend of the system is designated as 7, the next as S and the third ash;and they are all pivoted in the same vertical lane as the type bars inthe main system.

10 which is correspondingly nearer the printing-point than the pivotsfor the main ty pe bars.

. point.

wise to the segment 6; and if, depinedf this 0 D he ty e bar 7, however,is shorter than the maint, pe bars, and 13 mounted upon a pivot ever, beotherwise formed and supported in connection with either the main systemshown. or other main systems. It will be seen from Figs. 1, and 3, thatthe auxiliary type-bars are close together as compared i with some ofthe extreme type-bars in the main system; but that their types have am-,ple clearances from one another and from the extreme type 2 in the mainsystem. Beginning with the middle of the system, the multiple types areset at increasing angles with their bars until the final auxiliary type.designated as It, is nearly at right angles with its bar; but it will beseen that: the auxiliary types, instead of lying substantially end toend are placed substantially one behind another. according to theprogressively diminishing. lengths of their bars.

It will be understood that the type-bars at the left. hand of the systemcorrespond in position and otherwise with those illustrated at l ig. 3.e i

'The curved fulcrum rod 4. occupies a slot 15 in the segment, and thefirst pivot 13 of the auxiliary cranked pivot-memlwr fits in. said slot;said auxiliary pivot member having a plate '16 through which passes ascrew l7 to secure the pivot member to the segment 6. Said pivotn'uanber comprises the pivots .10, ll, 12 and 13, with intervening arms18, the device being preferably cut from solid stock. At Fig. tit willbe seen that the type-bar guiding slots 5, instead of being at rightangles to the contour lines of the segment, as heretofore. are skewed oroblique relatively thereto, and also that said slots are skewedrelatively to one another instead of being in parallelism. It willfurther be seen that by means of these skewed slots, the type bars arecaused to separate or diverge at their type ends as seen clearly at Fig.3. The skewing of the planes of vibration of the type bars is such thatthe greatest divergence. of the types is secured when the type bars lieat an angle of about 90 degrees to their printing positions, that is, ataboutlright angles from the position seen at Fig. 2, so that thegreatest benefit front thc'skewing is obtainable by having the type barsliehorizontally when at rest..-

from another. and affords :1 material advan' tage over having the typebarsjimparalle lism when at rest. It will thus be seen thati thpseparation of the types s gained witll'iout lengthening the type bars orincreasing Z'the,

travel of the types from printing to normal positions or increasing theseparation of the type bars in t-hesegment; and further that theimprovement can readily be applied in the manufacture of machines of thestyle now in vogue. Owing partly to the adoption of the progressivelyshorter auxiliary type bars at the ends of the system, and partly to theskewing of the type bars, it is possible to compress the large number ofbars required for the Russian language and other purposes within verynearly the same length of segment, measured in degrees, as hasheretofore been required for only forty-two typebars. It will be seen atFig. 3 that the middle type bars are very nearly or quite parallel,there being little or no skewing at this portion of the system; whilethe remaining type bars lie normally at progressively increasing anglesto the middle type bar o'r bars.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, whichis not limited to type bars which are provided with guiding slots, sincethey may be otherwise guided in planes skewed to one another-for thepurpose of the invention, and portions of my improvements may be usedwithout others, as for instance the auxiliary type bars may be omitted.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, a system of radiating swinging typebarsarranged in a curve upon one side of the printing center, a commoncurved fulcrum Wire upon which the type bars are hang, and means guidingsaid type bars so that they swing in planes which intersect at a commoncenter but wire, so as to separate the type ends of the I bars as theylie at rest, the skewing being least at or near the middle of the systemand gradually increasing from the middle to the sides of the system, andthe extent to which the type bars are skewed being so slight that theoutermost bar lies approximately at a right angle to the wire.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a system of type bars,of a segment having radiating slots in which said type bars are guided,and a pivot-wire for said type bars, said slots' skewed relatively toone another and to said wire, so as to separate the type ends of thebars as they lie at rest, the skewing being least at or near the middleof the system and gradually increasing from the middle to the sides ofthe system, and the extent to which the type bars are skewed being soslight that the outermost bar lies approximately at a right angle to thewire; and auxiliary type-bars mounted at the ends of said segment. andshorter than the bars in saidzseries and pivoted nearer the printingcenter.

FRANZ "X. VVAGNERQ Witnesses F. V. WAGNER, GEORGE VVoHN.

